


Play Me a Memory

by victorianvirgil



Series: A Melody of Burning Matches [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: 80s AU, A prequel of sorts, Ficlet, M/M, bar au, logan can play the piano, part of a greater work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 07:21:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17442443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/victorianvirgil/pseuds/victorianvirgil
Summary: The year is 1982. Patton and Logan are in a not-so-subtle secret relationship. Patton’s idea of a fun date night in February turns out to be a realization that he may love Logan, and it’s all because of Billy Joel.-Ficlet for A Melody of Burning Matches





	Play Me a Memory

**Author's Note:**

> It is highly recommended that you listen to Piano Man by Billy Joel while reading. Shit’ll change ya lyfe.  
> -mac

(You can hear it [here](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQwVjTlTdIDQ&t=ZWVjNjM2ZTgzZTNmZDU3NmM2NmFkMWQyYzBjZmE4MjIzMGI3MjdmMiw0OGNkZTcwMGI5NTg5ZjQxYjIzZTI5MDQ1YTMxZDYyZjhjZTc1M2I2))

 

The streets of Chicago were as lively as ever, people pressed together and hurrying down the sidewalks to get to their desired locations. The frigid February air slipping through the folds of Patton’s heavy outerwear and sending a chill down his spine, but after pushing past a thick, wooden door and closing it behind him, he was instantly warm once again, his walk worth it. He pocketed his hat and rubbed his bare hands together, looking around with a half smile across his lips. Everywhere he looked, he saw bodies sinfully drawn together, bodies of men. But he wasn’t scandalized, not when he was a frequent visitor of this particular gay bar.

He scanned the bar full of sweaty, desperate men until his eyes locked with a lone pair of piercing green eyes accompanied by black frames. The body that belonged to the eyes sat alone, draped lazily on a piano bench in the corner of the room. He held a glass of something that appeared to be a Long Island Iced Tea. He tapped the side of the glass anxiously, almost impatiently. His gaze softly scanned the room as if to be subtle, as if he were looking for someone. Looking for Patton. He almost called out to Logan, but he decided to relish the moment, to rake in the sight before him. Logan’s dark hair was pushed back lazily- very unlike him- and the alcohol added a hint of redness to his cheeks that was usually reserved for Patton alone. He grinned at the sight of him, and began to shove through the sea of bodies to reach him.

“This seat taken?” Patton asked, sliding onto the bench next to him.

Logan was about to retort when he realized who was speaking. A glimmer of excitement flashed in his eyes, but the expression on his face remained rather neutral. Typical. Patton planted a quick kiss on Logan’s cheek, lingering softly by his lips as he pulled away.

“Hello, Patton,” said Logan, looking at his feet to hide his intensifying blush. Patton only smiled. He and Logan had been seeing each other semi-frequently for some time, to the knowledge of none of their friends. They didn’t speak of it much outside of their rendezvouses, although they did all of the things any average couple would. But the two of them were a freewheeling couple- hooking up here, long, expensive phone calls there… In all honesty, they were anything but “freewheeling.” They’d never mention it though, this was the eighties.

“So, why’re you sitting way back in the Boondocks, baby?” Patton asked, running a hand through the back of Logan’s hair. Logan unconsciously leaned into the touch.

“You can see everything back here. All the scandals, all the drunk mistakes . . . and it also gave me an adequate vantage point to look for, well, you.” said Logan. Patton grinned.

“But why the piano? Do you play, Lo?” he asked.

Logan was quiet for a second. One of his hands inadvertently moved up to brush the surface of the keys. He pulled his gaze from the piano to meet Patton’s eyes.

“I dabble,” stated Logan. Patton’s jaw dropped open dramatically.

“No friggin’ way!” he said excitedly. “Play something!” he urged. Logan shook his head a little, the faintest dopey smile beginning to trace his lips.

“No, I couldn’t- it’s been so long and-”

“Hey Lo, if you play something for me, I’ll-” Patton leaned over to whisper the rest in his ear. Patton laughed a bit, biting his lip as Logan’s eyes widened ever so slightly.

“Okay, any requests?” said a suddenly very eager Logan.

Patton giggled as he asked, “You know _Piano_ _Man_?”

“Of course,” Logan nodded. “Who doesn’t?”

Logan took a sip of his drink and set it back to its place on top of the piano. He cracked his knuckles and rested his fingers atop the keys.

“Here goes nothing . . . I guess.”

For someone who was “out of practice”, Logan’s hands played the elaborate introductory notes as if he had written them. His fingers danced along the keys, pressing each one like his skin itched to do so. Patton was impressed, to say the least. The rambunctious voices that had polluted the tight space settled to a dulled hush as the subdued sounds of the baby grand bled in. Logan didn’t falter even once all eyes were on him. Instead he bent the microphone that sat on the piano towards him, flashing Patton a smirk as he did.

He was just full of surprises.

The second Logan opened his mouth to sing “It’s nine-o'clock on a Saturday…”  Patton couldn’t tear his eyes away from the man- more so than before. Logan’s voice was intense, but soft, and it sent chills up Patton’s spine. He wouldn’t allow himself to miss a single second. Logan didn’t look up from the piano, and Patton studied the details of his face while he played. With each passing line, he watched the crease between Logan’s eyebrows grow a bit deeper, more focused, and he watched the facade of a stone cold exterior start to melt away. A real, more vulnerable version of himself that not many people got to see was briefly unveiled. Patton had seen it before on rare occasion, but not like this. He saw it when Logan woke up in the morning, smiling at Patton as he fumbled for his glasses. He saw it in the warm blush that crept onto his cheeks every time they kissed. But what he saw there was raw emotion, the realest form of Logan there was, the one he put under wraps. Patton felt like he knew every detail about him as he watched him play. Involuntarily, he rested his hand on Logan’s thigh. Logan, in turn, flashed a look full of adoration towards him very quickly, before snapping his eyes back towards the piano.

“And the piano, it sounds like a carnival,” he sang. Someone in the sea of men gave a whoop and raised a glass to Logan. Patton watched as Logan gave the song his all, pretty sure he saw some tears well up in his eyes, despite the smile on his face being seemingly plastered there. Patton didn’t know why. He didn’t know everything that hid behind those nerdy glasses and the sea-foam green eyes, but as he watched Logan, the ache in his chest made him damn certain that he’d stick around to hear every detail.

**Author's Note:**

> hey gang, its mac! i know that none of you signed up for Logicality but it is Patton’s birthday and i felt a moral obligation to write something. also, aside from the fact that ronnie and i absolutely love logicality, this was a good opportunity to sort of introduce this world, because you can expect more from it very soon ;)
> 
> anyways, happy birthday (late, but only because i’m posting it on ao3 the day after) patton, and i hope y’all enjoyed this!
> 
> until next time,  
> mac
> 
> -
> 
> hi, ronnie here, id like to say a few things:
> 
> 1) mac,,,fucking superb you funky little angel you, i literally just cried, best thing you’ve ever wrote, i’ve been staring at this for 5 hours hhh  
> 2) i hope you, the reader, like green-eyed Logan, you’ll be seeing a lot of him. also, his musical ability may play a bit of a role in the upcoming fic...  
> 3) ah, yes. so like mac said, what I’m writing is a prinxiety fic (and as you can tell, written in the 80s - early 80s, i’ll give you that much). logan and patton are important side characters and as you can tell, secretly in a relationship as well. mac is going to write these “ficlets” as a) motivation for me to write b) to explain this gorgeous, loving pair that will almost never be mentioned (although you can read between the lines,,,there are quite a few instances where you can be like hhhhhhh) c) because mac is an amazing writer and I can’t write these ficlets as I try to write this entire fic, so she has my blessing that whatever she says is canon
> 
> feel free to message us via our email (revolutionaryroman@gmail.com) or asks on our tumblr (victorianvirgil), mac is just as knowledgeable about it as I am, but keep in mind that we can’t give everything away just yet. i’m thinking it will start being posted sometime in April (mark your calendars!), I hope that is more than enough time and it will be up well beforehand, but I’m just not sure. hopefully you’re just as excited as I am (with your limited knowledge,,,I am so sorry)!!!  
> -ronnie


End file.
